The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembled component. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrical connector assembled component having conducting terminals.
As an electrical connector assembled component of this type, there has been known a conventional electrical connector assembled component disclosed in Patent Reference.
Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-060732
According to Patent Reference, the conventional connector assembled component includes an intermediate connector, which connects a mating connector mounted on one circuit board and another mating connector mounted on the other circuit board. In the conventional connector assembled component disclosed in Patent Reference, the intermediate connector connects the mating connectors, with the one and the other circuit boards are parallel to each other. Therefore, the two connectors and corresponding terminals of the intermediate connector are aligned in straight lines. In other words, the direction of fitting the intermediate connector to one of the mating connectors is identical to a direction of fitting the intermediate connector to the other connector.
In the conventional connector assembled component, on the both mating connectors, pin-shaped (straight) fixed contacts (terminals) that extend in a fitting direction are provided at a plurality of positions so as to be present in rows and columns on a surface perpendicular to the connector fitting direction. On the other hand, on the intermediate connector, there are provided movable contacts that are formed by bending metal strips in the strips' thickness directions so as to be able to elastically deform in the thickness directions.
In the conventional connector assembled component, each movable contact is composed of two spring pieces, which are provided as a pair that faces each other in the plate thickness direction so as to tightly press and hold one fixed contact, and those two spring pieces are put together with a linking piece at a middle position thereof in the fitting direction so as to keep a constant distance therebetween. Each spring piece of the movable contact forms a cantilever, with the linking section works as a basal part thereof. Each pair of the spring pieces forms contact sections, which has a shorter distance therebetween locally, on the both free end sides, i.e. the sides to contact with mating connectors. Such a neck-like portion formed by a pair of the spring pieces, which face each other in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction, elastically flexes and deforms so as to receive and tightly press the fixed contact of the mating connector.
According to the conventional connector assembled component disclosed in Patent Reference, while the both mating connectors and the intermediate connector are connected, the both mating connectors can respectively move relative to the intermediate connector within allowable range in two different directions in a surface perpendicular to the fitting direction.
As for the two directions of the movements, one is a thickness direction of the spring piece of the movable contact of the intermediate connector, which is enabled by elastic deformation of the movable contact in the thickness direction upon being pressed by the fixed contact. The other is a width direction of the spring piece, which is enabled by sliding of the fixed contact along a surface of the spring piece of the movable contact.
Therefore, according to the conventional connector assembled component disclosed in Patent Reference, the two mating connectors can do so-called floating, whereby it is possible to absorb influence from displacement of the mating connectors in two directions in a surface that is perpendicular to the fitting direction.
However, in the intermediate connector of the conventional connector assembled component disclosed in Patent reference, since each movable contact is formed by bending a metal strip in a thickness direction thereof. Further, a pair of the spring pieces facing each other in the thickness direction is connected with a linking piece, and the upper and lower spring sections are connected to each other as one member. Therefore, there remains much to improve.
Furthermore, according to the intermediate connector of the conventional connector assembled component disclosed in Patent Reference, connection can be made only in a way such that the fitting directions of two mating connectors are aligned in one direction, and such intermediate connector is not suitable for connection when the circuit boards, to which the respective mating connectors are attached, are perpendicular to each other.
According to the conventional connector assembled component disclosed in Patent Reference, first, as a result of that a contact section of a terminal of the intermediate connector is formed being bent only in a thickness direction, among the above-described floating in the two directions, one is obtained as elastic deformation in the thickness direction and the other is obtained as sliding accompanying with frictional force in the thickness direction, and the moving modes due to the floating in the two directions, i.e., the force working between the fixed contact and the movable contact are different, one is elastic force and the other is frictional force.
As a result, upon movement due to the floating, when the both connectors are displaced in a direction angled from the fitting direction, and when the directions of the displacements are different, i.e. although being in a surface perpendicular to the fitting, when it shifts to a direction angled to one straight line, because of difference in the displacements and contact pressures, the difference is generated in the influence absorbing ability. In other words, for example, in case of a displacement in a direction of the elastic deformation, the contact pressure is proportional to the deformation, and the contact pressure can be high or low depending on the deformation, but in case of the displacement in the sliding direction, in regardless of the amount of movement by the sliding, the contact pressure is constant contact pressure, which is initial elastic force that the contact sections at the positions after the movement originally receive.
Second, since the spring piece is bent only in the thickness direction, the throat-shaped contact site to the fixed contact forms a straight line, and the length of the line is the maximum at one side of the quadrangle od the fixed contact that has a quadrangle section, so that the length of the contact cannot be considered sufficient and the contact area is extremely small. Moreover, when the fixed contact has a circular section, the contact site has to be a point.
Third, as described above, since the upper and the lower springs are integrally made as one piece, even when the two mating connectors displace not in the same linear direction but in different directions relative to each other because of the difference in the mode of the floating in the two directions, there is difference in the ability to absorb influence from the displacement between the mating connectors.
Fourth, since the upper and the lower springs are integrally formed as one piece, the upper and the lower springs restrict each other and enhance the rigidity by being together, so that, although the contact pressure is high in the elastic deformation direction, the elastic deformation (the amount of moving) is small, and there is no independency in the elastic deformation.
Fifth, the intermediate connector cannot be fitted and connected to the both mating connectors in one straight line direction, so that it is impossible to apply in so-called right-angle connection, in which circuit boards of the two mating connectors are disposed at a right angle from each other.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembled component, in which receiving terminals of mating connectors, to which conducting terminals of an intermediate connector contact and connect at their ends, can achieve the same modes of floating at any angular positions in the circumferential direction, and which is suitable for right-angle connection.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the present invention.